Time to Listen: Trends in U.S. Security Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States’ diplomatic influence is ebbing in Latin America and the Caribbean. U.S. military influence, though, remains strong. The result is inertia, a policy on autopilot, focused on security threats and capabilities at a time when creativity is badly needed.

Moving in a more constructive direction would not be difficult. It could start with simply listening to what Latin American government and civil-society leaders are saying. The clamor for a new relationship is loud, but still falling on deaf ears.

That is the overarching theme of Time to Listen, a new publication from the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, the Washington Office on Latin America, and the Center for International Policy. It is the latest in these groups’ series of publications about trends in U.S. security relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Crammed with statistics and graphics, Time to Listen guides readers through today’s trends on the U.S. security relationship with Latin America.